Dominating its Freshman Drama Competition in the 10pm Hour, ABC's Debut of "Scandal" Scores the Best Viewer Retention of "Grey's" in More Than 3 Years

ABC's "Primetime: What Would You Do" Hits its 2nd-Highest Numbers this Season

ABC Dominates Saturday with its Annual Rebroadcast of "The Ten Commandments"

Building on its Lead-in Sunday at 10pm, ABC's "GCB" Towers Over its CBS Drama Competition in Adults 18-49 and Improves its Slot by Double Digits Year to Year

WEEK No. 29:

During the week of April 2, 2012, ABC registered as the 2nd-most-watched network for the 4th week in a row to CBS, increasing its advantage over 3rd-place Fox to 17% (7.7 million vs. 6.6 million).

· Continuing its momentum and gaining viewers for the 4th straight week, ABC once again generated its most-watched non-"Oscar" week since November - since w/o 11/21/11.

· As each of the other nets lost viewers year to year, ABC was the only broadcaster to grow its overall audience from the year-ago week (7.6 million on the w/o 4/4/11).

Rankings: ABC claimed 3 of the Top 10 TV series for the week in Adults 18-49: "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 8, while "Grey's Anatomy" and "DWTS Results Show" tied at No. 10. In addition, ABC delivered 2 of the Top 4 most-watched programs overall with "DWTS" (No. 3) and "DWTS Results Show" (No. 4), as "Dancing" finished ahead of Fox's "Idol-Thurs" and NBC's "The Voice" for the 3rd week running. Building for the 5th straight original telecast to draw its biggest audience in nearly 1 year, ABC's "Body of Proof" placed among the Top 20 most-watched TV shows for the 2nd straight week (and just the 2nd time this season), moving up to No. 17 from No. 20 the prior week.

Monday

Featuring its lineup of "Dancing with the Stars" and "Castle," ABC registered as the Monday's most-watched net for the 3rd week in a row (15.2 million), oudrawing CBS with the "2012 NCAA Basketball Men's Championship Game" (14.7 million), while topping NBC with "The Voice" and "Smash" by 6.0 million viewers (9.2 million) and more than doubling the audience of Fox with the return of "Bones" and the time-slot premiere of "House" (7.5 million). In addition, ABC beat out Fox's original drama lineup on the night in Adults 18-49 (+8% - 2.6/7 vs. 2.4/6).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" was the top draw in its 2-hour time period for the 3rd straight week, beating out NBC's "The Voice" in head-to-head competition by 6.1 million viewers (16.9 million vs. 10.8 million). Among Adults 18-49, ABC's "Dancing" outdelivered Fox's combo of "Bones" and "House" by 21% in the time period (2.9/8 vs. 2.4/6).

· Despite going up against the "2012 NCAA Championship Basketball Game," ABC's "DWTS" held 100% of its Adult 18-34 audience week to week and spiked 25% with Men 18-34.

"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

The night's No. 1 drama in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, ABC's "Castle" stood as the top series in its slot for the 2nd consecutive week on both counts. In fact, ABC's "Castle" nearly doubled the audience of NBC's "Smash" (+95% - 11.7 million vs. 6.0 million) during the 10 o'clock hour and defeated the NBC drama by 19% in Adults 25-54 (3.1/7 vs. 2.6/6).

· "Castle" increased its overall audience year to year, topping its year-ago telecast by 2% (11.5 million on 4/4/11).

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's "DWTS: Encore Performance" attracted 3.3 million more viewers than NBC's original "The Biggest Loser" (9.7 million vs. 6.4 million).

· The "Dancing" encore improved its hour by 4.0 million viewers (9.7 million vs. 5.7 million) and by 20% (1.8/6 vs. 1.5/5) year to year, topping original programming on the year-ago night ("No Ordinary Family" on 4/5/11).

"DWTS Results Show" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Tuesday's most-watched TV program, ABC's "DWTS Results Show" soared above NBC's premiere of "Voice Results Show" during the 9 o'clock hour by 7.1 million viewers (15.6 million vs. 8.5 million). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series also finished No. 1 in the hour with Adults 25-54 (4.0/9-tie) and was the No. 1 broadcast program with Kids 2-11, beating "Voice Results" by 17% (1.4/6 vs. 1.2/5) on the latter measure. Actor Jack Wagner was the second celebrity eliminated from the competition this season.

ABC's "Body of Proof" ranked No. 1 during the 10 o'clock hour, more than doubling the audience for NBC's "Fashion Star" (+156% - 10.5 million vs. 4.1 million) and leading by 33% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/5 vs. 1.5/4). In addition, the ABC drama dominated the hour by 61% over its nearest competition in Adults 25-54 (2.9/7 vs. 1.8/4 - NBC) and won its slot for the 2nd week in a row among key Women (W18-49/W25-54).

· Building its overall audience for its 5th straight original telecast, ABC's "Body of Proof" drew its largest audience in close to 1 year - since 4/26/11. Additionally among Adults 18-49, the show equaled a best-since-premiere number - since its season opener on 9/20/11.

Wednesday

For the 3rd week running, ABC's mostly repeat Wednesday schedule (1 original half-hour) beat out NBC's first-run schedule on the night (including series debuts from 8:00-9:00 p.m.), leading by 6% in Total Viewers (3.8 million vs. 3.6 million) and by 30% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.0/3).

During the 9:30 p.m. half-hour against the conclusion of "Idol," the season finale of ABC's "Happy Endings" finished as the top-rated scripted show in its slot in Adults 18-34 (1.7/4-tie). In addition, the ABC sophomore comedy (3.7 million and 1.7/4) dominated a second original episode of NBC's "Bent" (1.9 million and 0.7/2) by 1.8 million viewers and 143% in Adults 18-49.

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., up against Fox's "American Idol" and CBS' first-run comedies ("The Big Bang Theory"/"Rules of Engagement"), ABC's "Missing" (7.2 million and 1.5/5) more than doubled the audience (+148%) of NBC's original comedy block and led by 15% in Adults 18-49 ("Community"/"30 Rock" = 2.9 million and 1.3/4).

· Despite facing depressed holiday viewing levels in the hour, "Missing" retained 100% of its week-ago audience with young adults (AD18-34/AD18-49), while growing its ratings with Women 18-34 (+8%) and Men 18-49 (+10%).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

Nearly doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+87%), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" finished in a virtual tie for the lead in the hour with CBS' "Person of Interest" (2.8/8 vs. 3.0/8 - tied in audience share), while beating Fox's "Idol"-driven "Touch" by 22% (2.3/7). In addition, "Grey's" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in Women 18-34.

"Scandal" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

Showing impressive retention of its "Grey's" lead-in during the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's debut of "Scandal" more than doubled its freshman drama competition, defeating NBC's "Awake" by 181% in Total Viewers (7.3 million vs. 2.6 million) and by 122% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 0.9/3). In addition, the new drama won the hour with Women 18-49, beating out CBS' time-period veteran "The Mentalist" by 7% (2.9/8 vs. 2.7/7). And among Women 18-34, "Scandal" outdelivered "The Mentalist" by an even wider margin of 27% (1.9/6 vs. 1.5/5).

· Building 11% over ABC's February Sweep average in the hour (7.3 million vs. 6.6 million), "Scandal" marked a 13-week high for ABC in the time period with Total Viewers - since 1/5/12.

· "Scandal" produced ABC's strongest Total Viewer retention (89%) in the hour coming out of an original "Grey's Anatomy" in over 3 years (since 2/12/09). In fact, it was ABC's best-ever viewer retention in the hour for a non-crossover episode with "Grey's."

Friday

With a mix of repeat and original programming opposite all first-run competition, ABC ran a strong second on Friday night in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5), outperforming Fox by 50% (1.0/4) and NBC by 36% (1.1/4).

"Shark Tank" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Opening the evening against original programming in the 8:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "Shark Tank" repeat (1.3/5) outdelivered Fox's time-period premiere of "The Finder" by 18% (1.1/4) and NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" by 63% (0.8/3).

Building sharply on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+23%), ABC's "Primetime: What Would You Do?" ran in a virtual tie with CBS' "CSI: NY" for No. 1 in the hour among Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 vs. 1.7/6 - pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point), while beating NBC's "Grimm" by 23% (1.3/4) and Fox's "Fringe" by 60% (1.0/3). For the 2nd week in a row among Adults 18-34, the ABC newsmagazine beat out the original dramas in the hour on NBC and Fox.

· Building week to week in Adults 18-49 (+7%) and Adults 25-54 (+5%), "Primetime: What Would You Do?" matched its 2nd-highest numbers this season.

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "20/20" once again dominated its newsmagazine competition, beating NBC's "Dateline" by 1.0 million viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.1 million), by 54% in Adults 25-54 (2.0/5 vs. 1.3/4) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 1.0/3). ABC's "20/20" featured Barbara Walters' exclusive first interview with Jenna Talackova, since making international headlines for being disqualified from the 2012 Miss Universe Canada competition because she was not a "naturally born female." Plus, in an exclusive interview, Yvonne Stern - for the first time since the attempts on her life - told ABC News Anchor Chris Cuomo why she has forgiven her husband and is standing by her man as he faces trial next week accused of trying to have her killed.

Saturday

"ABC Special Presentation: The Ten Commandments"

With the 32nd replay of "The Ten Commandments" on network TV, ABC easily qualified as the No. 1 network on Saturday night, outdrawing its closest competitors by 3.3 million viewers (7.0 million vs. 3.7 million - CBS) and by 78% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/6 vs. 0.9/3 - Fox). ABC grew over the same night last year by 3.5 million viewers and by 60% in Adults 18-49 (3.5 million and 1.0/3 on 4/9/11).

· The rebroadcast of the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille classic stood as the No. 1 program of the night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (6.5 million and 1.5/5 on average from 7:00-11:22 p.m.).

· Excluding New Year's Eve, "The Ten Commandments" generated ABC's best non-sports Saturday in almost 1 year in Total Viewers and since December 2010 in Adults 18-49 - since 4/23/11 and 12/25/10, respectively.

Sunday

"GCB" (9:01-10:00 p.m.)

At 9:00 p.m., coming out of a repeat "Once Upon a Time" (3.8 million and 1.0/3), a special airing of "GCB" (5.2 million and 1.7/4) surged over its lead-in by 1.4 million viewers and by 70% in Adults 18-49. ABC finished No. 2 in the hour to a Masters Golf Tournament-boosted CBS with key Women (W18-49/W25-54), beating NBC time-period regular "Celebrity Apprentice."

"GCB" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in among Adults 18-49 (+12%), ABC's "GCB" ranked No. 2 in its regular 10 o'clock time period, pacing 46% ahead its CBS competition ("The Good Wife" encore/"CSI: Miami" season finale = 1.9/5 vs. 1.3/3). "GCB" ranked No. 1 in the hour with Women 18-34 (tie) and earned second place with Women 18-49 and Women 25-54.

· Although holiday TV usage levels were down in the hour week to week (-6% in AD18-49 = 36.8% vs. 39.1%) and it did not have "Desperate Housewives" as a lead-in, "GCB" retained 100% of its young adult audience (AD18-34/AD18-49) and grew week to week in Women 18-34 (+7%).

· Improving over the second hour of a 2-hour "Brothers & Sisters" (1.7/5 on 4/10/11) on the year-ago night, "GCB" boosted its time slot for ABC year to year by double digits in Adults 18-49 (+12%).

Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings, week of 04/02/12.